Northwestern football players can't unionize, National Labor board rules

The National Labor Relations Board dismissed a petition by Northwestern University football player for the right to unionize on Monday.

In January 2014 Northwestern football players, led by former quarterback Kain Colter, called the NCAA a dictatorship and asked for the right to form labor unions for college athletes. The NLRB’s decision dismisses a ruling from March 2014 by Peter Sung Ohr, a regional NLRB director in Chicago, who said that football players are school employees and have the right to organize, according to USA Today. Players voted on the issues and a simple majority was needed for them to organize under the College Athletes Players Association. The player’s votes won’t get counted.

"After careful consideration of the record and arguments … we have determined that, even if the scholarship players were statutory employees (which, again, is an issue we do not decide), it would not effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction," the NLRB wrote.

The NLRB said that labor stability wouldn't be promoted due to the structure of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision(FBS). The board also noted that if one team could unionize then there would be no stabilty in labor relations across the Big Ten Conference.

Alan K. Cubbage, Northwestern’s vice president of university relations, said in a statement that Northwestern considers its student-athletes to be students and the school is pleased with the NLRB’s decision. The Internal Revenue Service said that athletes wouldn’t be taxed on their athletic scholarships if they were school employees, according to ESPN. The IRS allows for the exclusion of tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment required for classes at educational institutions, including athletic scholarships.

The College Athletes Players Association cannot appeal the NLRB’s decision.